| It seems as if lately, headlines scream disaster, recession, trade war, inflation, bubbles, crashes. Modern media, with their 24-hour news cycles can amplify your worries. Our job is to help you understand that good investors are patient. They understand that markets, like life, move in cycles, and the long arc of history tends toward progress. Investing is not a game of predicting the next crisis, it’s a wager on the resilience of human innovation. Cleaning Up Your Media Diet Feeling anxious? Try this: Go a week without financial news. No CNBC, no X, no “expert” forecasts. Instead, read books. Study history. Observe how, despite wars, pandemics, and political upheavals, the world has consistently moved forward. At its core, investing is an act of faith and strategy: not blind optimism, but rational belief in humanity’s ability to solve problems. The long-term investor sees the bigger picture: In the 19th century, people thought industrialization would lead to mass unemployment. Instead, it spawned the modern economy. In the 20th century, the Great Depression, two World Wars, and the Cold War seemed like existential threats to capitalism. Yet, each crisis paved the way for innovation. In the 21st century, every downturn - from the dotcom bust to the 2008 financial crisis, to COVID - felt like the end. Yet here we are, more technologically advanced and interconnected than ever. The road ahead will be rough. There will be volatility, worrying headlines, and corrections. Volatility is, unfortunately, the price you must pay for stock market returns. The key to long-term wealth is patience. So, the next time you feel anxiety creeping in from a headline, ask yourself: Do you believe in the ingenuity of human beings? Do you trust that problems create solutions? If the answer is yes, zoom out. And if you don’t feel that it’s serving you, maybe turn off the TV. And as always, if you’re feeling uneasy, or just want to chat; feel free to give us a call. | 
